Rudder attachment for boats



A. D. STEWART.

RUDDER ATTACHMENT FOR BOATS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1921.

Patented June 28, 1921.

RTTY.

UNITED STATES PATET FFlQE,

ARCHIBALD DUNLOP STEWART, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

RUBBER, ATTACHMENT FOB, BOATS.

Application filed March 25, 1921. Serial No. 155,448.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AReI-IIBALD DUNLor STEWART, of the city of Toronto, in the county of York, Province of Ontario, Canada, a subject of the King of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Rudder Attachments for Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in rudders for screw-propelled boats, and. my object is briefly to devise a rudder of the expanding type which will at all times act in the same manner as an ordinary rudder, which, when it is desired to stop the boat quickly, may be expanded, and which when expanded will cause a reverse or astern movement of the boat, and particularly my object is to devise a construction simple and effective enough to be applied to small screw-propelled boats, especially motor boats, without being too expensive.

I attain my object by means of the constructions hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my im' proved rudder; v

Fig. 2 a top view of the rudder, the rudder post being shown in section;

Fig. 3 a side elevation of the rudder, part of the post being broken away;

Fig. 4 a plan view showing the gearing for opening the rudder;

Fig. 5 a cross section of the gearing;

Fig. 6 a plan view of a modification of the device showing the rudder opened out;

Fig. 7 an end view of the rudder closed up; and

Fig. 8 a detail showing the arrangement for releasing the internal gear member to expand the rudder.

In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

1 is the stern of a boat, on which is suitably mounted the rudder post 2, preferably formed of hollow tubing. Suitably mounted on and extending rearwardly from the rudder post 2 is the frame 3. ()n the rear end of this frame are hinged the plates 4, which normally lie flat against the frame 3. Each of these plates 4 has an elongated slot 5 formed therein through which passes a bolt 6 having a suitable washer 7 thereon to prevent the bolt pulling through the slot.

To the head of each bolt is pivotally connected one end of a lever 8. The other end of each lever 8 is securely connected with enlarged portions 19 formed on or secured to the lower end of vertical shafts 9 within the hollow rudder post 2. The rudder post 2 is, of course, suitably cut away to allow these levers 8 to operate.

On the top of the rudder post 2 is mounted a cap 1-1. Each of the vertical shafts 9 extends up into the cap it, and one of these shafts 9 has a pinion 10 keyed on its upper end while the other shaft has a pinion l1 keyed on its upper end. The pinion 10 has teeth formed entirely around its periphery, while the pinion 11 has teeth formed thereon for only part of its periphery.

Rotatably mounted on the cap 14 is the internal gear member 12, though as the member 12 will never turn more than an eighth circle, only that part of its inner periphery adjacent the pinion 10 will be provided with teeth, the teeth of the pinion 1O meshing with the teeth on the internal gear member 12, while the pinion 11 will mesh with the pinion 10. From this arrangement of teeth and gearing, it will be seen that as the member 12 is rotated, the pinions 10 and 11 will be rotated in the opposite direction to one another.

The member 12 will be provided with the distance pieces or operating handles 13, the ends of which are suitably connected with the tiller wheel.

To hold the member 12 from rotation relative to the cap 14, I provide a spring key 15, one half of which is embedded in a keyway 16 in the cap let and one half in the keyway 17 in the member 12, where it is free to slide vertically, but is normally held in position by its spring. A further keyvay 18 is formed in the member 12 at a distance to allow the member 12 to be rotated sufficiently far to turn the pinions 10 and 11 an eighth circle. Between the keyways 1"? and 18, the member 12 is beveled oil", and

as the end of the key 15 is also beveled off,

it is not necessary to entirely withdraw the key 15 from the keyway. The spring key 15 is connected with a cord which is led to a position convenient for operation by the steersman, being preferably connected to a suitable pedal which may be operated by the steersmans foot.

its long as the spring key is in its position in the keyways 16 and 17, the rudder will be swung from side to side in the usual manner. When it is desired to expand the rudder to stop or reverse the boat, the steersman withdraws the spring key 15 from the keyway 17, when by operating the steering wheel the member 12 will be rotated relative to the cap 14: a distance suflicient to give the pinions 10 and 11 an eighth'turn, and as the pinions 10 and 11 turn the shafts 9 of course also turn and the levers 8 are swung so asto open out the hinged plates a as indicated in Fig. 6. When the member 12 has been rotated sufficiently far, the spring key enters the keyway 18 and the rudder is thus held expanded, and the rudder may then be swung from side to side as before if desired.

When it is desired to close the rudder, the spring key is again retracted, the member 12 operated in the opposite direction to rotate the gears 10 and 11 an eighth turn, when the key 15 again enters the keyway 17. A modification is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In these two views, the washers 7 are omitted and instead plates 19 are mounted to slide longitudinally of the plates 4:: and connected to the bolts 6 on the ends of the levers 8. As the bolts 6 travel through the slots in the plates 4: as the rudder is expanded, the plates 19 are moved longitudinally of the plates 14, and thus a greater surface is exposed to the action of the water when it is desired to stop the boat.

From the construction described it will be seen that I have devised a construction which will satisfactorily attain the objects of my invention as set forth in the preamble of this specification. It will be seen that while the key 15 is in the keyways 16 and 17 the device acts exactly as an ordinary rudder, while at the same time there is no strain of any kind on the pinions 10 and 11. It will also be seen from Fig. 1 that the ends of theplates 4 when in closed position lie in close proximity to the rudder post 2 so that water cannot get between the plates .4: to retard the speed of the boat. V

\Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. In a rudder attachment for boats, the combination of a rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat; a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame; and means for swinging said plates to and from a position alongside and approximately parallel to the frame.

2. In a rudder attachment for boats, the combination of a rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat; a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of-plates hinged on the rear of said frame; means for swinging said plates to and from a position alongside and approximately parallel to the frame; and means for extending the area of said plates as they are swung to a position at an angle to the plane of the frame.

3. In a rudder attachment for beats, the combination of a rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat .a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame; means for swinging said plates to and from a position alongside and approximately parallel to the frame; and means for extending the area of said plates in a forward direction as they are swung to a position at anangle to the plane of the frame.

1. In a rudder attachment for boats, the combination of a hollow rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat; a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame; a pair of vertical shafts mounted in said rudder post; levers secured at one end to each of said vertical shafts, the other ends of said levers being connected to and slidable longitudinally of said plates; and means for rotating said vertical shafts.

5. In a rudder attachment for boats, the combination of a rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat; a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame and having longitudinal slots formed therein; a second pair of plates outside of and slidable longitudinally relative to the'first mentioned plates; a pair of vertical shafts; levers secured at one end to each of said vertical shafts, the other ends of the leverspassing through the slots in the first mentioned plates and connected with said second men tioned plates.

6. In a rudder attachment for boats, the

combination of a rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat; a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame; a pair of vertical shafts; levers secured at one end to each of said vertical shafts, the other ends of said levers being connected to and slidable longitudinally of said plates and means for rotating said vertical shafts.

7. In a rudder attachment for boats, the combination of a hollow rudder post rotatably mounted vat the stern of a boat; a rearwardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame; a pair of vertical shafts mounted in said rudder post; levers secured at one end to each of said vertical shafts, the other ends of said levers being connected to and slidable longitudinally of said plates; a cap on said rudder post; an internal gear member supported on said cap and normally rotatable with said cap; a gear on the upper end of each vertical shaft, said gears meshing with one another and one only of said gears meshing with the internal gear member.

8. In a rudder attachment for boats, the

combination of a hollow rudder post rotatably mounted at the stern of a boat; a rear- Wardly directed frame mounted on said post; a pair of plates hinged on the rear of said frame; a pair of vertical shafts mounted in said rudder post; levers secured at one end to each of said vertical shafts, the other ends of said levers being connected to and slidable longitudinally of said plates; a cap on said 10 rudder post; an internal gear member supported on said cap and normally rotatable with said cap; a gear on the upper end of each vertical shaft, said gears meshing With one another and one only of said gears meshing with the internal gear member; and means permitting limited rotation of said intsernal gear member relative to the cap. of l arch, 1921.

ARCHIBALD DUNLOP STEWART.

i lied at Toronto, Canada, this 18th day 

